Meanwhile, Felis was torn with anxiety as he fled desperately. On the other side, Zhao Lun carefully carried Pask's skeletal head, cautiously advancing toward the tall tower while all the other skeletons' attention was drawn elsewhere.
"I… Master, don't you realize how dangerous this is?" Pask trembled nervously, speaking cautiously.
"Nonsense!" Zhao Lun snapped.
"Since you know, why don't we just go back? With your strength, wiping out such a tribe should be easy. There's no need to take such a risk!"
Pask put on a loyal face, hoping Zhao Lun would change his mind and stop leading him toward the brink of death.
"Try talking back one more time if you don't want to die. Shut up!" Zhao Lun growled, his soul-flame fixed on the tower ahead as he stealthily advanced.
The skeleton tribe left wasn't many—about a hundred or so. The rest had gone chasing after Felis and their skeleton lord. These hundred-plus skeletons were all concentrated near the territory altar. Since Zhao Lun was heading toward the tower, they didn't pose much immediate threat. Before long, Zhao Lun reached the base of the tower.
"Finally arrived." The mere three hundred meters had Pask shaking with fear, but sometimes skeletons were just that way—once their brains were fried, they gave up easily. Strangely, upon reaching the heart of the enemy's stronghold, Pask felt relaxed instead of nervous.
Zhao Lun ignored the coward and flickered his soul-flame, instantly sending out a 'sense' spell. The tower's attributes immediately appeared in his sight:
Building
Level 1 Magic Tower
Category: Support
Function: ??????
"As expected, time for Plan B!" Seeing the simple status full of question marks, Zhao Lun stood up and completely abandoned stealth.
"As expected? Plan B? Lord, did we prepare some plan?" Pask was confused, but he soon figured it out.
Zhao Lun spread his arms wide, chanting a quick incantation, then grimly said, "Plan B is to destroy it!"
No sooner had he spoken than the earth beneath the tower's southeast base softened suddenly. The massive magic tower tilted instantly, leaning right while the left base lifted.
"Earth Spike!"
A soil-colored spike burst out, propping up the tower's base and knocking the entire tower over with a crashing sound.
"Done!"
Patting his bony hand, Zhao Lun once again marveled at the wonders of magic. Just two level 1 spells—he easily toppled a tower seven or eight meters tall and two or three meters wide. Effortless and elegant.
Zhao Lun was pleased, but Pask was about to cry.
"L-Lord… we're in trouble!"
The massive noise of the collapsing tower attracted hundreds of skeletons. Pask immediately felt the end was near. It was the first time he experienced the dreadful feeling of over a hundred level 3 or above skeletons swarming toward him.
"Trouble? Not at all!"
"I'm telling you, Lord, look closely! Of those hundred skeletons, the front few are Great Sword skeletons, but the rest are all skeleton archers. You have just one skeleton mage—how can you fight them? I think we should… you, what are you doing?"
Before Pask finished, Zhao Lun's soul-flame flashed, and he charged headlong into the hundred skeletons rushing toward him.
"You're… you're crazy! How could you win? If you were a level 5 skeleton mage who knew defense and level 2 AoE spells, maybe. But now? You're just going to die. Stop right now!" Pask wanted to cry—if Zhao Lun wanted to die, at least put him down first!
"Shut your mouth and open your eyes wide!"
Before he finished speaking, Zhao Lun had already clashed with a Great Sword skeleton. Crack! In an instant, Zhao Lun tore off the skeleton's skull, snatched its great sword, all while holding Pask. Such a smooth move showed Zhao Lun's close-combat skills were no joke.
"You? How is this possible?" Pask was stunned. Defeating a level 3 Great Sword skeleton in one melee round? Is this still a skeleton mage?
The shock was just beginning. After taking the sword, Zhao Lun plunged into the skeletons, his frame nimble as he weaved through the crowd. In minutes, he killed four or five more skeletons, broke through the melee skeleton line, and charged into the skeleton archers' ranks. The entire process took less than three minutes.
"This must be trickery… right?" Pask's jaw dropped. It was hard to imagine a level 4 skeleton mage with such terrifying agility. Is he really a mage?
By now, Pask's nervousness faded. From the moment Zhao Lun breached the archers' formation, the fight was basically over. No way could skeleton archers still threaten Zhao Lun up close.
Indeed, Zhao Lun's pure melee wasn't that strong—about equal to two level 4 Great Sword skeletons, far below elite warriors like Great Sword One. But his melee was no ordinary fighting—it was integrated with magic. His melee power rivaled Felis's skill. Compared to his main specialty—spellcasting—his melee was stronger for fighting skeleton archers and group battles. Against mutated skeletons, magic was the key.
Zhao Lun knew this too. Pure melee—even magic-infused melee—was just a temporary tactic. When he reached level 5 or higher and learned more spells, he would abandon melee combat.
But for now, magic-infused melee was highly effective. In under five minutes, Zhao Lun slaughtered dozens of skeleton archers, eliminating the threat. The remaining skeletons were even easier…